Kompass-newsletter No. 126 - 07+08/2024
21.8. to 25.8. in Thuringia: We`ll Come United Summer Camp +++ Commemorative actions on the Pylos massacre on 14 June 2024 +++ The Nador-Melilla Border Trap - Border Forensics on the massacre on 24 June 2022: +++ Interrupted Sea - Report on Pull and Push-Backs by the Tunisian border authorities +++ Civilfleet: Sea Eye wins court case and brings new ship +++ Reviews: 8 June in Frankfurt, JoG in Potsdam, Refugees in Libya in Rome +++ Outlook: Transborder Summer Camp III starts preparations for summer 2025
Dear friends.
The European elections have undoubtedly intensified the shift to the right, and not just in Germany. After all, in the UK the Tories are history for the time being after the early elections, and the Rwanda Agreement was buried with them. Symbolically and practically, this failure remains important, even if the British Social Democrats, like those in Germany, can immediately be expected to introduce other, new racist tightening measures. Then a big thank you to everyone in France who helped to prevent the next far-right takeover at the last minute, so to speak, last weekend. And as a final piece of election news, something encouraging from Italy, which has obviously been little publicised beyond the national media. Among its six newly elected MEPs the Green-Left Alliance was able to bring three candidates with special backgrounds into the EU Parliament: Ilaria Salis, an anti-fascist grassroots activist who was imprisoned in Hungary for over 16 months and then had to be released immediately due to her immunity; secondly, Domenico - Mimmo - Lucano, who was criminalised under Salvini as mayor of Riace for his solidarity practices with refugees; and finally, Leoluca Orlando, the former mayor of Palermo, who has repeatedly campaigned for the right to freedom of movement and the role of cities as "safe havens". We congratulate all three and hope for future support from Brussels as van der Leyen continues to brutalise migration policy and the far right becomes even louder.
In June, two memorial days took place in quick succession: on 14 June 24, one year after Pylos with over 600 deaths, and on 24 June 24, two years after Melilla with at least 27 deaths and many disappearances. Two places that symbolise massacres at the EU borders and which have so far both remained without consequences for those responsible. "Justice means that the Greek government is held accountable for the dead, that those who caused us to drown are held accountable." These are the words of a survivor from Pylos, whose voices took centre stage at the commemorative events. "The Nador-Melilla Trap - a counter-investigation into the racist massacre of 24 June 2022" is the title of an extensive investigation by Border Forensics, which was published to coincide with the second anniversary. This research not only reconstructs the deadly trap itself, but also analyses the preconditions and accuses the impunity and criminalisation of those affected afterwards.
Just like last year: despite and against the brutal violence at the external borders, thousands of People on the Move continue to make their way along the various routes. The overall number of arrivals remains much lower than in 2023, partly due to the fact that the Tunisian authorities are intercepting many people at the sea and deporting them to Tunisia or to the borders with Libya and Algeria. However, in all three Mediterranean regions - and in the west on the Canary Islands - respectively 20 to 25 thousand people made it through in the first half of the year. That remains considerable. At the same time, the civilian fleet in the central Mediterranean is defending itself - in some cases very successfully in legal terms - against the Italian government's arbitrary repression. Boats are still being supported and rescued almost every day in the cooperation between Alarm Phone, the civilian small aircrafts and the large and small civilian lifeboats at sea, see https://civilmrcc.eu/category/diary/ . Solidarity for Safe Passages remains in demand again this summer at all levels.
In this spirit, with solidarity greetings,
The Kompass crew